SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS of WHITENESS in ARMSTRONG, BC, 1890-1930 by ROBYN S. BOURGEOIS BA, Okanagan Unive
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WHITEWASHING HISTORY: SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF WHITENESS IN ARMSTRONG, B.C., 1890-1930 by ROBYN S. BOURGEOIS B.A., Okanagan University College, 2002 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLGY We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA July 2004 © Robyn S. Bourgeois, 2004 THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Library Authorization In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Robyn S. Bourgeois Name of Author (please print) Date (dd/mm/yyyy) Title of Thesis: Whitewashing History: Social Constructions of Whiteness in Armstrong, B.C, 1890-1930 Degree: Master of Arts Year: 2004 Department of Anthropology and Sociology The University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC Canada 11 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the social construction of white racial identities in the small, rural British Columbia community of Armstrong during the time period 1890-1930. Focusing on public documents - newspapers and the minutes and legislation of the local city councils -1 utilize an intersectional framework, incorporating critical race, feminist, anti-colonial, Marxist, and queer theory and scholarship to critically interrogate the construction of whiteness and its dominant status in Armstrong. Employing critical discourse analysis, this thesis dissects how whiteness was raced, classed, gendered, and sexualized within the public discourse of the community. My analysis of whiteness follows three major themes: land, morality, and weddings. In my discussion of land use, I demonstrate how racialized constructions of land use, which demonstrated the superior nature of white land use and the inferior nature of Chinese and First Nations land use, were employed by white Armstrong to affirm and reaffirm their dominant status in the community. Further white control over land was facilitated by the construction of the ideal white immigrant within newspaper-run immigration schemes. In my discussion of morality, I make clear that not only did moral issues divide white from non-white, but they also contributed to fracturing and hierarchical ordering within whiteness itself. Thus, while Christianity and alcohol helped divide white from non-white, issues pertaining to the moral training of white youth and temperance and the Women's Christian Temperance Union served to divide and order whiteness itself. Finally, in my discussion of weddings, I demonstrate how the institutionalization of middle-/upper-class weddings within the newspapers contributed to the establishment of gendered, classed, and sexualized norms [particularly a heterosexual norm] for white Armstrong. Further analysis of the heterosexual norm demonstrates a fractured white masculinity in the community. Finally, this section concludes with a discussion of the ideal white feminine ideals of wife and mother and the role that consumption played in establishing a fractured white femininity. Ill TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Table of Contents iii List of Figures v List of Abbreviations vii Acknowledgments viii CHAPTER ONE Questioning the Past: An Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 A Brief History of Armstrong-Spallumcheen 3 1.3 Whiteness as a Subject of Investigation - Race, Racism, and Racialisation .. 9 1.4 Overview 17 CHAPTER TWO Examining Whiteness: Origins, Methods, and Frameworks 19 2.1 Introduction 19 2.2 Review of the Literature 20 2.3 Tools of the Trade - Research Methodology 34 2.4 A Note on Primary Sources 42 2.5 Conclusion 45 CHAPTER THREE "Landless Men and Manless Land" - Whiteness, Land, and Immigration 47 3.1 Introduction 47 3.2 The Coming of Civilization - Settlement and the Myth of the Overlanders .. 49 3.3 Making Use of Manless Land - Whiteness and the Regulation of Land Use in Armstrong 61 3.4 The "Yellow Peril" - The Chinese and White Racism 68 3.5 Landless Men -Whiteness and the Regulation of Immigration 76 3.6 Conclusion 86 CHAPTER FOUR "Good White Folk": Whiteness and the Moral Realm 88 4.1 Introduction 88 4.2 "God Bless Us Everyone" - Whiteness and the Church 89 4.3 Good Little Boys and Girls - A Case Study in Gendered Moral Reform 99 4.4 Battling the Devil Liquor - Booze, Busts, and Boundaries 106 4.5 Saving Our Souls - Temperance, Morality, and the WCTU 113 4.6 Conclusion 119 iv Table of Contents cont. CHAPTER FIVE 'White' Weddings: Whiteness, Gender and Heteronormativity ..122 5.1 Introduction 122 5.2 Putting the 'Public' in Marital Bliss 123 5.3 Queering Class: "Gentlemen," the Working Class, and Homo-Iconography 136 5.4 Consuming Women: Wedded Bliss, White Womanhood, and Consumption 144 5.5 Conclusion 155 CHAPTER SIX Conclusion 157 Bibliography 165 Appendix A - Anti-Chinese Resolution 173 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 - Armstrong's Downtown Core, Circa 1901 (ASMAS # 1501) p.4 Figure 1.2 - Armstrong, British Columbia p.5 Figure 1.3 — Chinese Family in Your Mouth? p. 14 Figure 1.4- White Meals p. 16 Figure 1.5 - White Laundry p. 16 Figure 3.1 - Augustus and Catherine Schubert, Circa 1890 (ASMAS # 3874) p.49 Figure 3.2 - Armstrong-Spallumcheen and the Indian Reserves p.64 Figure 3.3 - The "Ideal" Immigrants p.80 Figure 3.4 - The "Assimilable" Poles p. 82 Figure 4.1 - The Official Directory p.91 Figure 4.2 - The Churches p.91 Figure 4.3 - The Christmas "Card" p.92 Figure 4.4 - "The Drinkers" (In Armstrong Hotel, Date Unknown. ASMAS # 5282) .p. 106 Figure 5.1 - The Holtby wedding in Armstrong, Circa 1903 (ASMAS # 4520) p. 123 Figure 5.2 - The Homosocial Miners p. 137 Figure 5.3 - The "Homo-erotic" Overalls p.138 Figure 5.4 - The Gentleman p. 139 Figure 5.5 - Gentleman and his dog p. 139 Figure 5.6 - The Heterosexual Couple p. 140 Figure 5.7 - The 'Heterosexual Gaze' p. 140 Figure 5.8 - "Lovely Ladies" p. 143 vi List of Figures cont. Figure 5.9 - Getting Into the Home p. 149 Vll LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ASMAS = Armstrong Spallumcheen Museum and Art Scoiety WCTU = Women's Christian Temperance Movements Vlll Acknowledgements Firstly, this project would not have been possible without the financial support I was fortunate to receive during my master's degree. This includes Teaching Assistantships and a Fellowship from the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at the University of British Columbia, as well as a Canadian Graduate Scholarship (2003-2004) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Gillian Creese, and thesis committee member, Dr. Becki Ross, for the incredible support and insight they provided during the undertaking of this project. Their diligence and dedication to this project - from reading multiple drafts and providing extensive written feedback, to their patience when the complexities of non-academic life invaded the academic- has been truly awe-inspiring. Their careful comments and suggestions pushed me beyond what I believed to be my own limits and helped me to produce a piece of work that far exceeds any expectations I had for my thesis. I have long looked up to both of these women as role models, and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with them. As well, I would like to thank professors Thomas Kemple, Dawn Currie, and Cole Harris, each of whom made important contributions to this project. Also, I would like to thank Renisa Mawani for her support and friendship. My summer in the archives will always be treasured, and the experience was enhanced by the important work of others. I would like to thank the Armstrong Spallumcheen Museum and Art Society for tolerating my presence in the archives, as well as the individual members who supplied interesting tidbits for my research. I am forever indebted to curator Lisa Mori, whose friendship and assistance during this project was invaluable. Indeed, this thesis was very much inspired by conversations we had during my tenure at the Museum. I would also like to thank Joan Cowan and the Enderby Museum for allowing me access to physical copies of some of the newspapers included in this project. During my master's degree, I was fortunate enough to be a resident member of Green College, UBC. It is an environment rich in both ideas and friendship, and many a discussion over dinner provoked serious thought and consideration about my own research. In particular, I would like to thank my closest "greenies" for their friendship and their support- Charmian Bennett, Phillip Jefferies, Laura Lapp, Kristina Llewellyn, and Kelley Main. There were times during this master's process that I know I would not have made it through if it had not been for all of you! I would also like to extend a thank you to Chef Sherry Geraghty for not only feeding me, but also for being a true friend and confidante. I value tremendously the friendship and support I received from my fellow graduate students in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at UBC. I am forever indebted to Erin Bentley, Thea Berretta, Leamore Cohen, Jonathon Hanvelt, Shelley Ketchell, Genevieve LaPointe, Mayumi Nakamura, Brandy Wiebe, and Sara Young. We shared work, we shared fun, and some of us even shared kisses and cinnamon gum. My friendship with each of you has sustained me during this degree process, and I am truly a better person for knowing each and every one of you.